Consequences
by Deana
Summary: Nick's recent past with Rae returns to haunt him...with a deadly vengeance.
1. Attack!

Consequences

A Presidio Med story by Deana Lisi

Disclaimer: I don't own Nick or any Presidio Med character.

"I can't believe how far off we were!"

"Would you stop talking about it, already?" Dr. Jules Keating shook her head as she and Dr. Jackie Collette walked down the hall. 

"Well," said Jackie. "I mean, I still can't believe it."

Jules nodded. "Neither can I, but I'm tired of feeling stupid." Truth be told, Jules couldn't stop thinking about it either. The previous day, prescription notepads had been stolen, and used illegally. She and Jackie had done up a profile of the thief, based on the stolen drugs. The short, bald, angina-suffering man with migraines traveling to the Far East ended up turning into a 23-year-old healthy young woman.* 

"Weird," Jackie commented. 

As they walked, neither of them noticed the stumbling man down a hall to their left. The man came out behind them, going the opposite way.

********************

"Good work, Nick."

Dr. Nick Kokoris turned around to see Dr. Harriet Lanning come into the break room. "Thanks, Harriet," he said, flashing her a beautiful smile as he poured himself some coffee.

"I heard you really brought that woman back from the brink of death," Harriet said, grabbing the coffee pot. 

Nick nodded, with a nonchalant shrug. "It's my job."

Harriet smiled. "You do it very well." 

Nick smiled again, and sat down with his coffee.

"So…" said Harriet.

Nick looked up at her.

Harriet leaned against the counter, looking at him over her coffee mug. "What do you do, nights?"

Nick blinked, wondering what exactly she meant. "Uh…"

"I mean, do you have a girlfriend, do you spend time with anyone?" Harriet lowered her mug. "I've been thinking about you lately. You're always here, work, work, work. A young, good looking man like you should have some fun in life."

Nick smiled at her motherly attitude. "Well…" his smile faded as he sat down. "There _was_ someone, once…"

Harriet frowned. "No more?"

Nick shrugged. "No…not really."

Harriet gave him a sympathetic face. "Ooooh, that's just too bad." Suddenly her pager went off. She picked it up, and looked at it. With a sigh, she put down her coffee.

"Duty calls," said Nick.

Harriet nodded. "It sure does." Giving him another smile, she walked out, leaving Nick to ponder an important area of his life that was seriously lacking. 

********************

"'Scuse me, I'm looking for Dr. Kokoris."

The receptionist blinked, at the obviously drunk man who was talking to her. "Dr. Kokoris…" she looked around, not seeing him. "I'm not sure where he is, do you need help? I can…"

"No, I'll find him," the man slurred, stumbling off.

The receptionist turned, to alert someone about the man, but the phone rang and she answered it, quickly forgetting about him.

"'Scuse me, doc."

Jackie turned around. "Yes?"

"Where's Dr. Kokoris?" the drunk asked.

Jackie smiled. "Right there, actually."

The man turned, to see Nick walking past the receptionist desk. "Him?"

Jackie nodded, frowning as the man stumbled off. She almost grabbed his arm to ask if he was all right, but figured Nick would be asking him that in a few seconds anyway.

"Dr. Kokoris!"

Nick stopped as he passed the receptionist desk, and backed up. "Yes?"

"There's a strange man looking for you," the receptionist told him. Suddenly she spotted him across the way. "He's right over there."

Nick turned around and saw him. Walking in his direction, he saw the man stop dead, and simply stare at him.

"Are you Dr. Kokoris?" the man asked, when Nick reached him.

"Yes," Nick said. "Is there something I can do for you?"

The man nodded. "Yeah. You can die."

Before Nick had a chance to register his words, the man thrust something at him, and Nick grabbed his arm, but not fast enough to avoid getting sliced by what he saw was a scalpel. 

The drunk was sent off balance by Nick's grip, and fell sideways, to the floor.

Nick fell with him, landing on his knees, still gripping the drunk's arms.

The commotion caught everyone's attention, and several people ran, in fear, while doctors hurried over.

"Nick!" shouted Jackie, when she saw the bloody scalpel. 

"I got him," Nick said, trying to wrest it from the drunk's hands. 

Drs. Letty Jordan and Matt Singerland ran over as security personnel managed to subdue the man, letting Nick get the scalpel from him. 

"What happened?!" Matt exclaimed.

"He attacked me," said Nick, slumping to a sitting position with a wince, a hand clutching his ribs.

"You're hurt," said Letty, trying to get a look at the wound, which had already soaked a decent portion of Nick's shirt with blood. To her alarm, she saw it beginning to pool on the floor. 

"I don't think it's bad," Nick lied, trying not to let the pain show in his voice.

Letty made a face at him, and grabbed his arm while Matt grabbed the other, pulling him to his feet. 

Immediately Nick swayed dizzily, almost tripping over himself.

"Heh," Letty snorted. "He considers that 'not bad'," she mumbled, as she and Matt helped Nick to one of the treatment rooms. 

********************

"Well?" If his left side hadn't been killing him, Nick would've thought it humorous at the way everyone was hovering over him.

"You were lucky," said Jackie, getting to the point. 

Nick held in a pained gasp when someone touched him. He felt odd being the patient rather then the doctor. Looking at the IV bag, he wondered how long it would take the drugs to work. 

Jules Keating started taking his blood pressure again. "On the low side, but not dangerously."

"Good," said Harriet. "Looks like we don't have to give you a _lot_ of blood, Nick."

Nick sighed, not having wanted _any_. 

"Who do you want to sew you up?" Letty asked him. 

_Sew me up…_ "You," he said. "No, make it Harriet, she's gentler."

Harriet took the suture from Matt, and went closer to the table. Looking down at Nick, she gave him another of her motherly smiles. 

Nick returned her smile, looking rather pale. Harriet wondered if he needed more blood then they thought. 

As she threaded the needle, she tried not to look worried. Everyone was putting on a brave face for Nick, trying not to worry him. The poor guy had just nearly been killed, but why, no one knew.

Jackie handed Harriet the Novocain injection, and she looked at Nick, to see his eyes closed. "Nick?"

Nick opened them, looking at her blearily. The drugs were starting to work.

"You're gonna feel…" _a stick, _she was about to say. Looking at the long slice, from over his left ribs to around his side, she knew this would feel like more then a mere 'stick'. Especially since she could see bone showing.

"This is gonna hurt," she said, instead. 

Nick nodded, closing his eyes again.

Harriet inserted the needle as gently as possibly, hearing the gasp Nick emitted. She quickly injected the drug and withdrew the needle, patting him on the arm. "All right, Nick?"

Nick opened his eyes after the wound went numb, and sighed in relief. "Yeah," he answered her.

"I'll have you done in a jiffy," Harriet told him.

Nick closed his eyes again, drowsily. 

"BP's lower," said Jules. "85/50."

"It shouldn't drop any further," said Harriet, the bleeding having slowed.

Everyone nodded, watching as she sewed. 

"How you doing, Nick?" she asked, a few minutes later.

She got no answer.

"Nick?" said Jules.

Nothing.

"You think he's asleep or passed out?" Jackie asked.

"Probably both," said Matt.

"BP unchanged," said Jules, relieved. 

"I wonder who that jerk was, who did this," said Letty. "And why?"

"I didn't even see him," said Jules. "Was it someone Nick knows?"

Everyone shrugged, having no idea.

Season 1, episode 8, 'Pick Your Battles'


	2. The Motive

Jules left the treatment room, wanting to ask about the attacker. She was told what room they had him in, and she opened the door to find police inside, and the man lying on the table, handcuffed and restrained.

Jules stopped dead at what she saw, gasping in shock.

Nick might not know his attacker, but Jules did. 

Sean Brennan.

_Sean! Rae's husband! _Jules said nothing, staring, her mouth agape. 

Finally a policeman noticed her, and walked over. "Doctor? Do you know this man?" he asked, the look on Jules' face making it obvious. "He has no ID on him and won't tell us his name."

Jules looked at the cop, her mouth opening and closing again. "Y-yeah," she said. "His name is Sean Brennan."

"Any reason you think he would've done this?" the cop asked, writing the name on a small notepad.

Jules stared at Sean a moment more, before turning to the officer. "Uh…he's the husband of a doctor who works here…Rae Brennan. She left just before this happened..."

The policeman's eyebrows flew up at that info, and he nodded. "Thanks for your help."

Jules nodded, mutely, taking one last look at the drunken Sean, who lay there unmoving, seemingly unaware of what went on around him.

Shaking her head in shock, Jules turned and ran out, going back to the room housing Nick.

********************

"Twently-one….twenty-two…"

Jules burst back into the room, interrupting Jackie's counting of Nick's stitches.

When Matt saw the look on her face, he walked closer. "What's wrong?"

Harriet paused, in her work. "Jules?"

Jules shook her head, letting out a breath. "The attacker…it's Rae's husband!"

Everyone started talking at once, their voices shocked.

"Shhhh!" Jules said, closing the door.

"I don't understand!" said Jackie. "What could Rae's husband have against Nick, to try to _kill_ him!"

Jules looked away, feeling like it wasn't her right to say. 

Everyone looked at each other, realization dawning. 

"Nick and Rae?" Matt said, looking over at his unconscious colleague. 

Nick hadn't heard a word, and despite her shock, Harriet went back to work finishing the stitches.

********************

"WHERE IS HE?!"

Matt looked up at the sound of Rae's panicked voice. She was running in his direction, having spotted him.

He waited till she reached him. "Nick or Sean?" he asked.

Rae shook her head, with tears in her eyes. She felt humiliated that the whole hospital probably knew about her affair now. "Nick," she whispered.

Matt took her arm and led her towards the room, saying nothing along the way.

When they reached it, Rae walked in slowly, a hand to her face.

Nick was lying in the bed, eyes closed.

"Is he unconscious or asleep?" Rae asked, fearfully.

Matt shrugged. "Passed out while Harriet sutured him. He lost a decent amount of blood."

"Decent? What'd his BP bottom out at?"

"About 85/50," Matt told her. 

Rae went over to the bed and pulled down the sheet, opening the gown to take a look at Nick's injury. She gasped at the sight of the very long wound, and the amount of stitches it took to close it. 

"What did he do this with?" she asked, in shock.

"A scalpel," Matt told her. "We're…uh, trying to find out exactly _where_ he got it from…"

Rae's jaw dropped as she realized what Matt was saying. "No!" she exclaimed. 

Matt sighed, upset himself. The scalpel could've been used prior to the attack, and if so, then Nick was at risk of exposure to all sorts of things…very _bad_ things…

Rae sighed, trying to force away the panic fighting to well up within her. She reached out a hand and gently touched Nick's arm, rubbing it gently. 

"Nick?" she whispered. "Come back, Nick."

She got no answer, as Nick continued to lay there, unmoving.

Matt's pager went off, and he looked at it. "I gotta go," he said.

Rae didn't even acknowledge his voice, as she stared at Nick.

"Right," said Matt, quickly leaving the room.

"Ack!"

Matt stopped, just short of bumping into Jackie and Jules. 

"Watch where you're going, big guy," Jackie quipped. 

"How's Nick?" Jules asked.

Matt sighed. "Still out. Rae's inside."

Jules eyebrows shot up. "Yeah, I called her. I didn't know she got here already."

She reached out for the door handle, but Matt stopped her. "I'd leave her alone, for a while, she's rather…embarrassed…about the situation."

Jules sighed, but nodded, understanding.

********************

Nick was out for hours, not waking until near midnight. 

Rae was growing increasingly nervous, but she knew how hectic and tiring a doctor's life is, and she figured he was catching up on lost sleep. 

When Nick awoke, the first thing he saw was Rae, pacing slowly.

Rae saw his eyes half-open, and she tried to give him a smile. "Hey, how do you feel?"

Nick experimentally moved his body, stopping quickly. "Ouch," was all he said. His eyes drifted closed again, and before Rae could talk to him, he fell back to sleep.

Rae sighed, dropping her head in her hands, still shocked at the circumstances.

The door opened, and Jules walked in. "Rae?"

Rae glanced at her, before dropping her head back where it was.

Jules walked over, and put a hand on her shoulder. "How is he?"

"He woke up a second ago," Rae told her. "But fell back to sleep before I could…tell him." She suddenly made a face. "What are _you_ still doing here?"

Jules shrugged. "I had a bunch of paperwork to catch up on."

Rae smiled, knowing she was using that as an excuse. Jules was a good friend, and Rae knew she wouldn't leave without checking up on her. 

Jules smiled back, squeezing her shoulder, in sympathy.

"I don't know what to do, Jules," Rae said. "I can't believe…" she shook her head. "Sean isn't capable of murder!"

"He was drunk."

"Yeah, but…" Rae stopped, sitting up straight. "I shouldn't've told him. I told Sean last night, Jules. Told him about Nick. This whole thing is my fault!"

Jules said nothing. What _could_ she say? "Nick will be all right, Rae."

Rae sighed, shaking her head. "The scalpel…"

"Don't think about it," Jules said. "It may not have been used." 

Rae didn't answer._ But maybe it was used, on an HIV patient…_


	3. Doctors Make the Worst Patients!

Nick didn't wake again until the next morning. He heard voices and opened his eyes slightly, but he felt groggy, so he simply watched as people came and went. 

"Well, look who finally decided to wake up!"

Rae looked up at Harriet's voice, to see Nick looking at her. Wordlessly, she took his hand, tears slipping down her cheeks.

"I'm all right, Rae," Nick told her, seeing the tears. "No need to cry."

Rae sighed, deeply. "Nick…I know who did this."

Nick frowned. 

Rae closed her eyes tightly for a minute, before whispering. "My husband." 

Harriet quietly slipped out of the room, wanting to give them privacy. 

Jackie saw her, and came over. "How's Nick?" she asked.

"Awake," Harriet told her. "Rae's in there…talking to him."

Jackie's face turned sympathetic, not able to imagine what Nick would feel, at Rae's words. "I'll wait," she said. 

********************

"It's all my fault!" Rae exclaimed, pacing. 

To her surprise, Nick agreed. "Yes, it is."

She turned and looked at him.

"You're a married woman. The first time I saw you, you had on no wedding ring. I thought you were as single as I was." Nick sighed, closing his eyes tiredly. "If you had remained faithful to your husband…"

Rae clenched her fists, angry at him for judging her. _He's right, _an inward voice told her. _You spoke marriage vows…you had no right to go after Nick, and now he's suffering for it…look at how you've been treating him, since he came to San Francisco! Like he was a toy you didn't want to play with anymore!_

Nick saw her inward struggle, and sighed, feeling guilty—but only _slightly_—for saying what he had. He touched his ribs, feeling the thick pressure bandage over his wound, obviously there to prevent possible further bleeding through the stitches. He wondered how many it'd taken to close him up, and tried to shift his position again, wondering at the nasty ache that was settling throughout his body. _It must be this bed, _he thought.

"Nick, I—" Rae was about to apologize for everything that had gone on between them, whether good _or_ bad, but when she looked at him, she stopped. "What are you doing?" she exclaimed, grabbing his arm as he slowly sat up, scooting to the side of the bed.

Nick made a face at her. "I'm getting out of this thing."

"But…" Rae stopped, realizing that there was no real reason Nick needed to be admitted. 

Nick removed the IV himself, and shook his hand as if to restore feeling in it or something. 

When he stood up, Rae had to grab him when he nearly fell over. She sat him back on the bed, shaking her head. "Some doctor _you_ are! You should know better than that!"

Nick sat there blinking his eyes repeatedly, knowing she was right; his BP was still recovering. He gave Rae a slight smile. "I wanted to see what it felt like."

Rae snorted, smacking him on his shoulder. 

Suddenly the door opened, and Jackie walked in. "Well, look who's up!"

Nick smiled, upon hearing Jackie repeat Harriet's words. 

"He wasn't up for very _long_!" Rae said, making a stern face at him.

Nick stood up again, as if trying to show them he could. "I don't know what everyone's so worried about. I'm fine, see?" He looked at Rae. "Where're my clothes?"

Jackie did an about-face. "That's my cue to leave!" she exclaimed, quickly running out the door.

Rae was about to speak again when her pager went off. She took it out with a sigh.

Nick watched as she hesitated, knowing she had to go, but not wanting to leave him. "Go on," he said. "I'm fine."

Rae sighed. She'd barely gotten any sleep last night and was still in a state of shock over the situation, but a patient needed her. "See you later," she said.

Nick nodded, and waited before she left before slowly sitting back down on the bed, with a wince. If he expected himself to function, he would need a nice dose of painkiller. 

Getting up, he made his way to the closet and opened it, relieved to find his lab coat. He realized his clothes were gone, having been too bloodied to bother keeping. Looking at himself in the hospital gown, he shook his head. _What do I do now? _He had more clothes in his locker, but he wasn't about to walk down the halls in a hospital gown. 

As he tried to figure out what to do, the door opened, and Matt walked in. 

"Nick!" said Matt. "Good to see you up and around! Now, sit down."

Nick gave a laugh, sitting on the bed again. 

Matt looked at the wound, seeing that it appeared to look all right, with just a little pinkness around the edges. "How are you doing?"

Nick shrugged with his right shoulder. "Fine."

"Somehow I doubt that," Matt said, replacing the bandage. "And I don't mean just physically." 

At that, Nick sighed. "I don't know." he shook his head. "Rae and I…we were pretty much over with." He looked at Matt. "And now something like this." He looked away; Matt could see the fear—and anger—in his eyes. "What if the scalpel was used…"

Matt sighed, scared himself, at the implications. "Try not to worry," he said. "We'll take blood later, to test it." 

Nick nodded, knowing it was still too soon to get accurate results. 

"Want something for the pain?" Matt asked.

Nick almost shook his head, out of macho-ness, but nodded instead. There was no sense in pretending it didn't hurt.

Matt went over to a cabinet and selected a drug, bringing it back over to Nick. As he prepared to give him the shot, he hesitated when he saw Nick close his eyes. 

"Uh…" Matt said, with a smile. "Nick."

Nick opened them again and looked at him, throwing an apprehensive glance at the needle. "What?"

Matt started to laugh. "You're kidding, right?"

Nick blinked. "Kidding? I don't recall saying anything…"

Matt brought the needle closer to Nick's arm, while watching his face. He saw Nick try to keep a stoic expression, and he started laughing again. "You cut people open, but you're afraid to get a shot!" 

"No I'm not!" Nick said, indignant. 

Matt kept laughing, so loud that Nick was afraid someone would hear him and come into the room, wanting to know what was so funny.

"Just _do_ it!" Nick exclaimed, irritated.

Matt tried to stop laughing, as he brought the needle closer. Just as he was about to stick it in, he stopped and started laughing again instead.

Nick shook his head, aware that Matt was doing it on purpose. "_Matt_…" he said, through clenched teeth.

Matt nodded, still laughing. Just as he was about to do it again, he said, "Hey, why am _I_ doing it? You're a doctor, you can give yourself a shot." With that, he handed Nick the syringe.

Nick looked at it, heaving a huge sigh. _Why_ _does he have to be such a…_ "Do it, Matt. It's too awkward to do it myself."

Before Nick had a chance to think, Matt grabbed it and shoved it in.

Nick gasped, despite himself. 

Matt emptied the contents of the syringe into Nick's arm, and pulled it out, wiping the spot with alcohol. "There, that wasn't so bad, now was it?"

Nick made a face at him, and Matt frowned in concern to see how pale he suddenly seemed. "You all right?" he asked.

Nick nodded. "Fine. Just tired, that's all."

Matt nodded. "Maybe you should make someone drive you home. Don't forget to take some Keflex with you."

Nick frowned. "Home? I'm not leaving."

Matt quirked an eyebrow. 

"I have a job to do," Nick said, slowly standing.

"What?" Matt exclaimed. "You were almost _murdered_ last night! You're injured, you need to go home."

Nick shook his head. "Think of it this way; when you want to take my blood later, I'll already _be_ here."

Matt sighed, and put a hand on Nick's shoulder. "Remember what I said. Try not to worry, there's every chance that scalpel was sanitized."

Nick nodded, though he couldn't force away the sick feeling growing in his stomach. "Clothes!" he suddenly remembered. 

Matt smiled. "That would be a good idea. I'll get you some."

Nick smiled his thanks, sitting back on the bed with a sigh. As he waited for Matt to come back, he thought back to the attack. He'd met Sean Brennan once, at a cocktail party. The man who attacked him had been drunk and disheveled, and Nick hadn't recognized him. Sighing again, Nick had to admit that he couldn't blame Sean for flipping out on him…


	4. A Doctor's Work is Never Done!

Having finished with her patient, Rae went back to Nick's room hoping he'd still be there, but doubting that he was. 

Walking in, she saw that he was gone. She considered having him paged over the hospital intercom, but didn't want to take him away from a patient if he had one. 

With a sigh, she walked towards the break room, desperately needing some coffee. When she walked in, she found Letty there.

"Hey," Letty said.

"Hey," Rae replied, sitting down and plopping her head down on her arms. A minute later the aroma of coffee filled her senses and she sat her head up, seeing the mug sitting in front of her nose. "Thanks."

Letty nodded, sitting down across from her. "How you holding up?"

"Just great, my husband tried to kill my former lover."

Letty's eyebrows went up. "Former?"

Rae sighed. "Nick and I haven't had much of a relationship since he came here. I was trying to work on my marriage."

_Since he came here? _thought Letty. She didn't realize she and Nick had known each other before he'd come to their hospital. 

"Heh," said Rae. "Now my marriage is over, anyway!"

Letty shook her head, with a frown. "How's Nick? I went to the room he was in, but he wasn't there anymore."

"Working."

"He's working?"

Rae nodded. "Stubborn man. He insisted he's fine."

Letty snorted. "Male doctors...they take care of their patients, but never themselves."

Rae nodded, drinking the coffee before she fell asleep on the table.

********************

"You sure you're up to this consult? You look pretty pale."

"I'm fine, Jackie," Nick said. "What's your patient need?"

"Reconstruction of his left hand," Jackie told him. "I can do the skin, but _you_ have to do the bones."

Nick nodded. "When do you want to do the surgery?"

Jackie shrugged, crossing her arms. "It kinda needs to be soon, his health insurance runs out next week…"

Nick sighed. "Let's do it today."

Jackie blinked. "Today?"

Nick nodded. "Better we do it while I'm here." His body was achy all over and he was afraid that his injury was going to make him miss work for a day or two. The way he felt, he'll be lucky to make it to the end of the day. _What do you expect, _he thought. _The human body reacts to trauma._

"Okaaay." Jackie didn't ask what he meant by that; instead going into her patient's room to inform him.

Nick sighed and leaned against the wall, feeling exhausted.  

Jackie came back out a minute later. "Okay Nick, he agreed, we'll get him prepped…" She stopped and leaned in close, studying his face. "Are you _sure_ you're all right? You look kinda funny." 

Nick nodded, making a face at her choice of words. "I just realized, I haven't eaten. That's probably it."

Jackie threw her arms up into the air. "Well, duh! You lost all that blood and then slept all night. You had no supper, and no breakfast this morning!" She shook her head. "Go eat!"

Nick smiled, amused at Jackie's goofy but straightforward personality. Nodding at her, he walked off in the direction of the break room. 

********************

"Rae."

Rae looked up, to see that she'd nearly fallen asleep at the table.

"Go home," said Letty.

Rae rubbed a hand over her face. "I wanna find Nick."

"Go take a nap somewhere, I'll look for him for you."

Rae nodded, with a sigh. "Fine, I'll be in the locker room."

Letty smiled. "You want me to send a man into the women's locker room?"

That got a smile from Rae as she got up and left.

Letty downed the rest of her coffee before leaving, turning the corner just before the object of her search came down the same corridor. 

Nick walked into the empty break room, heading straight for the coffee pot. Pouring himself a cup, he looked in the fridge to see what was in there. 

Apples, jello, yogurt, and juice. No 'real' food. With a sigh, he considered buying a Snickers bar, but their wasn't a close enough vending machine. Grabbing an apple and all the jello's, he went over to the table, and gingerly sat down. 

With a sigh, he wished one of his friends had been in the room to talk to. He didn't want to think about the current situation, as it terrified him. He could've gone to the cafeteria, but the break room was closer and he had a feeling that the whole hospital probably knew what happened, and he really didn't want to be stared at by dozens of people.

Nick ate his food, and threw each jello cup into the garbage from where he sat, pleased to see that each one went into the can. With a sigh, he shifted his position, wishing the painkiller had taken away more pain then it had. 

Closing his eyes, Nick started to doze off, but forced himself awake, drinking the rest of his coffee. With another sigh, he got up and left the cafeteria. 

********************

"Tummy nice and full?"

Nick smiled, joining Jackie at the sink to scrub in. "I wouldn't say 'full', but at least I have some blood sugar now."

Jackie smiled back as she put the soap down and rinsed her arms and hands, holding them up in the air as she walked towards the OR. 

Nick finished and followed. When he walked in, a couple of the nurses stared at him, just as he feared.

Pretending he didn't notice, Nick walked over to the unconscious patient, and took a look at his left hand. Some of the bones had been crushed, and it'd been an open wound, one that Jackie would need to do plastic surgery on, to make it look normal once again. 

Taking a look at the patient's vitals, Nick reached towards the surgical instruments.

Jackie saw him hesitate when he picked up the scalpel. She looked at his face, to see that it was unreadable behind his surgical mask. 

With a sigh, Nick tore his gaze and thoughts away from the instrument, and began the operation.


	5. Once a Doctor, Now a Patient

Rae awoke slowly, forgetting where she was. When she opened her eyes, the situation returned to her mind, and she sat up, looking at her watch. She was shocked to see that over four hours had gone by. 

Jumping up from the cot, she ran out of the locker room, searching for Letty. She found her only a minute later, surprised at her luck.

"Did you find Nick?" she asked. 

Letty nodded. "He's doing reconstructive surgery on a hand."

Rae's jaw dropped. Nick must be all right, if he was performing surgery.

"They're almost done," Letty told her. 

"Good," said Rae, turning and running down the hall. 

********************

"Looks great," said Jackie.

Nick nodded. "Suture?"

Jackie held it out to him, but when he didn't take it after a minute, she looked at him to see why. 

Nick was blinking rapidly, as if he were dizzy.

Jackie frowned in concern. "Nick?"

Nick didn't answer her. He suddenly dropped the instruments he was holding, and they fell onto the table with a clatter, as his body slid sideways.

"Nick!" Jackie shouted, as he fell against her.

The anesthesiologist and nurses lunged towards them, as Jackie tried to grab Nick before he hit the floor. Together, they laid him down, as one of the nurses ran for help.

"Nick!" said Jackie, yanking his surgical mask off. She gasped at the sight of his shockingly pale skin, and felt his neck for a pulse and found it very weak.

The door suddenly burst open, and Rae and Letty ran in, having been grabbed by the nurse. 

"Help!" said Jackie, listening to Nick's heart. 

"What happened?!" Rae shouted, throwing herself to her knees beside her.

"He suddenly dropped like a rock!" Jackie exclaimed.

The anesthesiologist helped them put Nick on a gurney, and Rae started taking his blood pressure. 

"Nick?" said Letty, as she pulled up his shirt to look at his wound. "Talk to me!"

Nick didn't answer, out cold.

Jackie tapped Nick's face to try to waken him, and gasped. "He's burning up!"

"Whoa!" Letty exclaimed. 

Rae and Jackie looked to see what had shocked her, to see long red streaks along Nick's skin, extending out from his wound.

"Cellulitis!" said Rae. "Page Matt!"

Jackie nodded, rushing to the phone. After she did it, she ran back, to see the patient they'd been operating on still lying on the table. "Can you suture?" she asked the two nurses who were nervously looking between the patient and Nick.

They both nodded.

"Good," Jackie said. "He's all yours!"

The door burst open, banging against the wall as Matt Singerland ran in. "What happened?!"

"Nick collapsed!" said Jackie. "He has cellulitis and a fever! His heartbeat is too fast and—"

Rae made a sound of distress. "His BP is only 60/30!"

"He's gone into shock!" said Matt, hooking Nick up to an IV. "We gotta get him to the ICU!"

"Cellulitis!" Rae exclaimed, as if having only _just_ realized it. "But how?! He's on Keflex!"

"There must have been germs on the scalpel!" Matt said, grabbing a syringe to take some of Nick's blood. "Drug-resistant bacteria!" He shook his head. "I bet you a million dollars he didn't keep taking the Keflex …"

"102.5!" Jackie exclaimed, having taken Nick's temperature. 

"It's progressed into septic shock!" said Matt. "Take these to the lab!" He said, handing Jackie the vials of blood he'd just drawn. 

Jackie nodded, running out of the room.

"Grab some rifampin, Jackie!" Matt yelled. "Nick?" he said, gently tapping his face.

He got no answer.

Letty finished hooking up the heart monitor, and studied it as began to beep along with Nick's heartbeat. The rate fluctuated between 122 and 130, _much_ too fast for a man at 'rest'.

Rae checked his BP again. "Unchanged," she reported, her voice shaking.

Jackie came bursting back in a minute later, almost tripping as she flew through the door. 

Rae reached to grab the drug from her, but Matt saw her hand shaking and took it before she had the chance. Quickly loading a syringe, he injected it into the IV. 

The magnitude of the situation caught up with everyone, as they stared at one of their own—a fellow doctor—nearly murdered and now suffering a serious complication. 

"Drug-resistant bacteria!" Rae whispered. "Why?"

No one had an answer for her. 

*******************

With his blood pressure being so low, Nick was moved to the ICU. For the rest of the night, he was unconscious, his condition unchanged. His blood tests revealed that he _did_ in fact have blood poisoning. So with that, it was proven that the scalpel _had_ been used. A hepatitis and HIV test were ordered, and the hospital began to go through their records to find out if any AIDS patients had been in that day for surgery.

Rae stayed by Nick's side, not even leaving him to find out about her husband. He'd been arrested for attempted murder, and Rae didn't know if she could _ever_ look at him again. 

Suddenly Nick moved slightly, groaning softly.

Rae's head snapped up. "Nick?"

She got no answer, and a frown appeared on Nick's face, his eyes still closed. 

Rae stood and felt his forehead, getting a hollow feeling in her stomach to see that he felt hotter. His temperature had risen slightly a few hours ago, and she felt despair that it had apparently risen again. 

Harriet came in the room, to see Rae taking Nick's temperature. 

"Rae?"

"It's higher," Rae answered, sounding scared. "103.6!"

Harriet cringed inwardly, at the reading. She put a hand on Nick's arm when he moved again, either dreaming or delirious. She could feel the heat radiating from his body.

"It probably won't rise any higher," Harriet said, watching as Rae went over to a cabinet. "The rifampin should kill the bacteria in his body." 

Rae sighed, bringing a second IV bag over to Nick, and hooking it up. With a fever so high, she didn't want him to dehydrate.

"I have the results of the tests," said Harriet. "They're negative." 

Rae looked at her, sighing in relief. "Thank God!"

Harriet nodded, agreeing. "They also tested the blood on the scalpel. It was all 0+, which means it was either all Nick's, or the person it was used to operate on was the same type as him," she shrugged. "Either way, there were no signs of HIV in any of it."

Rae nodded her thanks, her lips in a tight line, obviously fighting tears. 

Harriet watched her for a minute. "Have you seen your husband?"

Rae shook her head. "Why would I want to do that?" she asked, angrily.

Harriet sighed, shaking her head. 

Nick suddenly moved again, making a noise that sounded almost like fright. 

Rae touched his arm, rubbing her hand up and down it gently. "Nick? Wake up."

To her surprise, he opened his eyes and looking at her blearily, eyes glassy. 

Rae wished she hadn't woken him up when she remembered the symptoms that went along with septic shock. Poor Nick was probably aching all over, with a raging headache. 

Nick stared straight ahead, blinking groggily, appearing dazed obviously due to the high fever. He shifted restlessly—with a wince—not succeeding in moving much. 

Harriet felt his forehead, putting a hand on his arm to prevent further movement. "Hush, Nick, take it easy."

Nick looked at her when she spoke, but there was no recognition on his face. With a sigh, he winced again and closed his eyes, not reopening them.


	6. Complicated Complications

That night was a difficult one, nobody wanting to leave, worried over Nick. They all eventually left, but not before making Rae promise that she'd notify them if Nick worsened overnight. 

Matt Singerland was the first one to arrive the next morning, most likely because he considered Nick _his_ patient, as he was the doctor in the group most qualified to take care of people with blood poisoning. 

Walking into the room, he strode over and pulled the sheets down to Nick's waist, opening his hospital gown and taking a look at the wound. What he saw upset him; the cellulitis streaks had lengthened. "Why didn't you call?"

"Good morning to you too," Rae said, sarcastically. Sitting up straight in the chair, she sighed. "Besides that, his condition was otherwise unchanged, so I saw no reason to wake anyone."

Matt sighed, looking down at Nick. He wasn't encouraged by the fact that Nick had worsened despite being on the bacteria-killing medicine. "Checked his temp lately?" he asked, feeling Nick's forehead.

Rae nodded, with another sigh. "The same. It hasn't changed a single point. He hasn't woken up at all, either."

Two _more_ things Matt didn't like. 

Rae picked up on that. "Look, Matt…you've likely treated more patients with this condition than the rest of us 'specialty' doctors. In your honest opinion, how _is_ he?"

Matt glanced back at Rae, seeing her impatience for an answer. "As well as—"

"Can be expected," Rae finished, with a snort. "Now I know how a patient's family feels when I give them that phrase." She looked at Matt, shaking her head. "That's no answer! Compared to other septicemia patients you've had…?"

"All right," Matt said, leaning one hand on Nick's bed, and sticking the other in the pocket of his lab coat. "In my experience with other sepsis patients, I would say he's somewhere in the middle."

Rae made a puzzled face. 

"I've seen better, but I've also seen worse," Matt clarified. 

Rae blinked, considering his statement. 

"If Nick starts to improve now, then there'll be nothing to worry about."

"And if he doesn't…?" Rae asked.

Matt shrugged. "Then our worry will be warranted."

Before Rae could say more, the door opened and Jules walked in. "How's he doing?"

"Don't say it!" Rae said to Matt.

Jules frowned. "Don't say what?"

"Nothing," Rae shook her head. "He's unchanged."

"Was he out _all_ night?" Jules asked, looking down at Nick. 

Rae nodded.

Jules sighed, feeling Nick's forehead. 

Studying the monitors, Matt shook his head. He'd never tell Rae it, but he had a feeling Nick would get worse before he got better.

"What?"

Looking at Rae, he saw that she'd seen him shake his head. "Humm?" he said, playing dumb.

"Why'd you shake your head?" she demanded.

"Oh, I, uh, well…" he crossed his arms, in an attempt to seem casual.

Rae stood from her chair, coming nose to nose with him. Or, rather, nose to chest. "I'm a doctor, Matt, not some panicked mother!"

_You're both, _he thought. _Although 'mother' isn't the right word…_"His blood pressure. I was just wishing it would go up some."

Rae looked at the heart monitor, where it displayed Nick's BP under his heart rate. It said 80/50, _much_ too low for a man of 6'1. 

"What's his prognosis, Matt?" Rae demanded. "And _don't_ lie to me."

Matt tried to give her an encouraging smile. "Nick'll make it! He's tough." Turning away from her, he went to get a syringe, and took some blood from Nick's arm. "Why don't you bring these to the lab? Stretch your legs, get something to eat?"

Rae said nothing, looking back to Nick.

"Oh come, Rae, Jules and I are here, we'll stay with him. He couldn't be in better hands."

Rae looked at Jules, who gave her a sympathetic smile. Looking back at Matt, she nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Okay…" She took the vials from Matt, looking at the tiny bottles with a nervous expression, as if to say, _Nick's blood…this is Nick's blood…_

Matt shook her head as Rae left the room. "Poor thing."

"Yeah," said Jules. "And poor Nick."

Matt nodded, doing another quick exam of his patient before Rae came back.

"What do you _really_ think, Matt?" Jules asked.

Matt sighed, in answer. "Hard to say, Jules. Like I told Rae, I've seen worse…what I didn't mention is that the ones that were worse—" he hesitated. "Died."

Jules took a deep breath, letting it out loudly. "We can't let that happen!"

Matt shook his head. "With _you_ and _I_ working on him, he's in the best hands he could be in."

Jules laughed at the goofily charming look he gave her. "Was that a compliment to me or to yourself?"

"Both," Matt said, with a laugh.

For the next few minutes the two of them were mostly quiet, watching Nick and checking his temp and BP every so often.

"You'd think by now, something would've happened," said Jules, sitting in Rae's chair.

Matt quirked an eyebrow at her.

"His temp lowering a little, his BP edging back up…_some_ kind of improvement," said Jules. "If he's getting better, we should see some proof." She sighed. "Likewise, if he's getting worse, then—"

Jules was suddenly interrupted by the heart monitor, which suddenly started beeping faster and erratically.  

Turning back to Nick, Matt noticed his breathing suddenly coming fast and labored. "Fluid in his lungs!" he said, hearing it clearly through his stethoscope.

"BP dropping again!" Jules said, alarmed.

Suddenly they heard Rae's voice, before she even made it to the door. "Renal failure!" she yelled, in a panic. "His blood tests show renal failure!"

_That explains the fluid in his lungs! _Matt muttered a stream of words that Jules didn't quite catch, as he dashed to Nick's other side and disconnected the second IV. 

Rae watched him do it, feeling despair to see that she may've helped cause Nick's kidneys to fail; overloading them with too much fluid while they were already working overtime, trying to filter his poisoned blood. "The Rifampin!" she exclaimed. "He can't take that drug with renal failure!"

Matt raised the bed's position, hoping to ease Nick's breathing. "We need to give him a dialysis treatment," he said, knowing that'd be the quickest way to restore his kidney function. 

"Matt!" said Rae, sounding panicked. "The Rifampin!" 

Matt sighed. Rifampin was sometimes known to damage kidneys. "Which would you rather have," he said, looking at her. "Death from septicemia, or _possible_ kidney damage?"

Rae couldn't answer, her eyes welling with tears.

Matt shook his head, touching her arm. "I'm sorry."

Rae sighed, wiping her eyes. 

"The scalpel introduced the bacteria directly into his bloodstream," Matt said, more gently. "That's why he got so sick so quickly. He needs the Rifampin to kill the bacteria. If we give him dialysis, it can prevent possible damage from the drug." 

Rae nodded, not protesting the procedure. 

Matt patted her shoulder, before dashing out of the room to call for a dialysis machine. 


	7. Best title for this chapter: Poor Nick!

Unfortunately, no portable dialysis machines were available, so Nick had to be moved out of the ICU for the time needed to complete the procedure.

As Matt and Jules hooked Nick up to the machine, they were upset to find out that Nick was unconscious, rather then asleep. When they inserted the two large needles into his forearm, the fact that he remained motionless was proof enough. 

Rae and Harriet were currently in the room, quietly watching him. He was only an hour into the procedure, and it would continue for a few hours more. 

"Ridiculous."

Harriet looked at Rae. "What is?"

"All this, from a slice wound!" Rae sighed. "If only that scalpel…"

"Don't do that to yourself, Rae," said Harriet. "You know 'if onlys' don't get anyone anywhere." 

Rae sighed, dropping her face into her hands. 

"You know Nick will be fine," Harriet continued.

Rae raised her head. "Do you _really_ think so, Harriet? So far, he's doing _terrible_!"

Harriet had no answer for that. Changing her perspective to one of a doctor who didn't personally know the patient, she studied Nick quietly and added up everything that had happened so far. 

Rae was right. 

The door opened, and Matt walked in. "How's he doing?"

Harriet glanced at him. "The same."

Rae said nothing, watching Nick's blood as it flowed from his body through one tube, and back into his body from another. 

"Hey, Nick," said Matt, checking his vitals. "Wakey wakey. The ladies are waiting for you, and it's not wise to keep women waiting." 

Rae cracked a slight smile at that.

Matt saw no sign of imminent consciousness and sighed. 

"Well?" Rae said, sounding depressed.

Matt knew what she was asking, and sighed again. "I can't say when he'll wake up. Septicemia is very serious, as you know."

"Maybe he'll wake up after the dialysis," Harriet said. She hated to give false hope, as it was possible that Nick was in a coma, but she felt desperate to offer some form of comfort. 

"Maybe," Rae agreed. She didn't sound convinced. 

Matt saw her look at her watch, for the third time already. "Somewhere you need to be?" he asked.

"Here," she answered. "I need to be _here_, but…"

Harriet frowned. "What?"

Rae sighed. "I need to be someplace at noon."

Harriet was about to ask where; surprised that she would leave Nick. Realization suddenly dawned, and she held her tongue.

Matt wasn't as perceptive. "Where?"

Harriet cleared her throat loudly, and Matt gave her a 'duh?' look, before seeming to understand. 

Rae said nothing, only sighed. 

*************

"Sean Brennan."

Rae's husband was lead in handcuffs to stand before the judge, who stared at him with a look of disgust. 

"Mr. Brennan, you are accused of attempted murder. How do you plead?"

Sean said nothing, head bowed.

"Innocent," said his lawyer, standing beside him. "My client was drunk, he had no comprehension of his actions."

The judge said nothing, writing on a piece of paper. "Bail is set at $500,000. A date for your trial will be set." The judge waved his hand to the nearby policeman, who took Sean's arm and lead him out.

None of them saw the woman standing in the slightly opened courtroom doorway, silent tears sliding down her face. 

*************

"Come on, Nick, wake up."

Jules was currently on her 'watch', the small circle of friends not wanting Nick to be left alone for any length of time. The dialysis was almost finished, and since they weren't giving him as many fluids as they were before, Jules was employing use of an old-fashioned way of lowering a fever; by using cold compresses. 

Nick was as motionless as ever, and Jules was really getting nervous. As a pediatrician, it was possible for her to see and treat a case of septic shock, but thankfully, she'd never had a patient suffering the affliction. To her, Nick had always seemed like the strong type; it was baffling to see him felled so easily by something so infrequent. 

Jules knew why Rae had left, even though no one had voiced it. As she held the compress to Nick's forehead, she sighed, wondering how her friend would get through this sad situation; her husband in jail and her lover seriously wounded. 

Suddenly she felt movement under her hand, and looked down to see a pained expression on Nick's face. 

"Nick!" she exclaimed.

Nick opened his eyes halfway, looking at her dazedly. His eyes fell onto the dialysis machine and he studied it, as if trying to tell himself he should know what it was. His gaze showed no comprehension however, and he closed his eyes again with a soft groan. 

"Nick! No…" Putting her hand on the side of his face, she begged him to reopen his eyes, not knowing how long it would take him to wake up again. When he didn't, she made a frustrated sound. 

Matt strolled in, but before he had a chance to open his mouth, Jules exclaimed, "He woke up!"

"He did?" Matt walked faster, standing at her side.

Jules nodded. "For about 10 seconds."

Matt felt Nick's forehead, to see that Jules' fever-lowering method hadn't had any effect yet. 

Jules saw the look on his face, and sighed. "We don't want him to go from having too much fluid to having too little! If his fever lowers, then the risk of dehydration won't be so great after the dialysis is finished."

"I know," Matt said, finding it amusing that Jules explained it as if he didn't understand.

Jules noted his tone, and shot a mock-stern look at him. 

Matt gave her one of his 'I'm charming' smiles, and went over to the dialysis machine to check Nick's progress. 

Jules rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she replaced the compress on Nick's forehead.

"He's done," said Matt.

Jules smiled. "Great! That'll be a welcome sight for Rae when she gets back."

Matt nodded, turning the machine off and disconnecting the tubes and needles from Nick's arm. "Now if only we could get that fever down..."

"And his BP back up."

"And consciousness gained," said another voice.

Jules and Matt looked up to see Letty and Jackie walk in. "The dialysis is finished?"

Jules nodded, watching as Matt stuck a piece of cotton over both needle-holes, and stuck a strip of tape over them.

"That's a relief," Jackie said, peering into Nick's face. Gently touching Nick's arm, she carefully pulled back the tape to look under the cotton. She found exactly what she expected; bruises from the thick needles.

Nick suddenly flinched, and shifted slightly. 

"Nick?" she whispered. 

Nick opened his eyes, but didn't look at her. He seemed to be focused on something straight ahead of him…which contained nothing but thin air.

"Nick?" Letty repeated, nervous at the sight.

Nick's breathing rate was rapidly increasing, and he continued to stare at nothing. He suddenly closed his eyes, making a soft sound of pain, before reopening them, and staring at something only he could see. 

"No…" he suddenly whispered. "Rae…"

"He's delirious," said Matt, going over to the cabinet and selecting a drug, as Jules put another compress on his forehead.

Jackie looked around the room. "Man, where's Rae when you need her!"

"Right here," said Letty, grabbing Jackie by the shoulders and shoving her into Nick's line of sight. "Rae's right here, Nick."

"What? You think he's gonna fall for—"

"He's delirious!" said Letty. "If you tell him you're Rae, he very well might believe it and calm down!"

Jackie blinked. "Right. Uh, I'm right here, Nick," she said, trying to imitate Rae's voice.

"Rae," Nick whispered again, not even glancing at Jackie.

"Ha!" Jackie exclaimed. "Told ya."

Letty sighed. "It was worth a try." Placing her hand on Nick's head, she gently smoothed his hair. "Shhh, Nick, Rae is coming."

Nick showed no indication that he'd heard her. "Rae…?" he pleaded again. 

Ever emotional, Jules felt tears well up in her eyes, at the vulnerable, sad tone to Nick's voice, as Matt threw away the syringe he'd just used. 

Nick blinked his eyes slowly, like someone fighting to stay awake. 

Everyone quietly watched as the medicine won the fight with Nick's body, and when they were sure he was asleep, they all sighed, unconsciously in unison. 

Rae suddenly walked into the room, and saw everyone standing there quietly, staring at Nick. Fearing that something was wrong, she quickly ran over. "What happened?!"

Jules grabbed her arm. "He's all right, Rae!"

Rae looked down at Nick, to see his chest rising and falling with breath. "Then what—?"

"He was delirious," Jules told her. "Looking for you."

Rae's face fell. "And I wasn't here."

Jules shook her head. "He was pretty out of it, Rae, I doubt if he would've realized it if you _were_ here." That was one little white lie Jules didn't fell guilty for telling, for it could possibly be true.

Rae nodded sadly, understanding the mechanics of delirium. Watching as Matt drew some of Nick's blood, she sighed.

Matt noticed. "I'm gonna check his kidney function. Now that they should be working normally, he'll start to get better."

Rae gave him a slight smile, appreciating his attempt at reassurance.


	8. Wakey, Wakey, Nicky!

 The night passed slowly, with Nick sleeping peacefully through most of it. Around 3am he had another episode of delirium, but it didn't last long. 

Rae was more asleep then awake, sitting in a chair with her head lying on the bed. Doctors and nurses came and went, but she hardly noticed them, stuck in that non-awareness mode. It wasn't until she heard a sound of satisfaction that sounded like Harriet that she became alert enough to sit up.

"What?" she said, at Harriet's smiling face.

"His BP has come up."

Rae looked at the heart monitor, to see that his BP had gone from a dangerous 60/30 to 75/40. Still extremely low, yes, but a definite improvement. With a smile, she also saw that his heart rate wasn't as fast. 

Rae smiled. The previous night's kidney function tests had come out well; the dialysis having thankfully done the job.  Taking all that into account, she realized, "He's recovering." 

Harriet smiled. "He sure is."

Rae took a deep breath. She was almost afraid to believe it, fearful that another crisis would suddenly strike. 

"Looks like he's doing better this morning," said a voice.

Turning, they saw Matt walk in.

"You got that right," said Rae, happily.

Matt studied Nick's face, and felt his forehead. "Temp's still way up there," he muttered, looking for a thermometer. 

Rae felt some of her hope sink at those words, but she tried to force the worry away. Nick had started to improve; his blood pressure, heart rate, and functioning kidneys were proof of that. 

Matt took the thermometer out of Nick's mouth a minute later, and looked at it. "103.2."

"It's slightly lower!" said Harriet, with a smile.

Matt nodded. "Yup." It had only gone from 103.6 to 103.2, but it was a good sign even so. "It'll continue to fall," he said, looking at Rae. "His body has a lot of bacteria to fight against."

Rae nodded. "I know."

Matt smiled. "And it looks like he's winning the battle."

********************

Matt was right; Nick _was_ winning the battle. Throughout the day his temp lost the remaining 2 tenths of a point, falling to 103. He still had yet to awaken, which was one thing that got everyone down. If Nick could look at them, smile at them, and laugh with them, _then_ they'd truly believe he was going to be fine. 

To everyone's utter joy, around suppertime, Nick finally woke up. 

"Harriet?"

Harriet looked down at Nick, from where she stood changing the IV bag. She broke into a huge smile when she saw his eyes open.

"Nick! How do you feel?"

"Dead," Nick groaned, closing his eyes.

Harriet looked to the door; glad that Rae—who'd gone to stretch her legs and bring back some coffee—hadn't been there to hear that. 

Harriet went to the phone to page Matt, and quickly returned to the bed.

"Nick? Still awake?" 

"Yeah," he whispered. 

Harriet felt his forehead, wondering if his fever had lowered. "Open up," she told him, thermometer in hand.

Nick obeyed, nearly falling back to sleep as Harriet kept her hand on his head, gently smoothing his hair. Suddenly he realized that he was in a hospital bed, and he opened his eyes. "What happened?" he asked, but it came out more like, 'moph mappaf'.

"Shhh," she chided, with a laugh.

Nick waited until she took the thermometer out, and asked again.

"102.9," said Harriet, with a smile.

Nick looked at her in shock. "That's _good_?!"

"It is in _your_ case," Harriet replied, frowning when she saw him fighting to keep his eyes open. 

Suddenly the door opened, and Rae came in, holding two cups. Walking slowly, so as not to spill any, she handed one to Harriet.

Harriet took the cup and looked back down at Nick, whose eyes were closed. _Argh! _she thought. _Rae missed it! _She decided not to tell her that Nick was awake, as she'd be crushed to have not been there. 

Her plan was ruined when Matt came in. "You paged me, Harriet?"

Harriet nodded. "Nick woke up."

Rae snapped her head up. "What?!"

Harriet nodded. "He was awake for a couple minutes, and was perfectly coherent." 

Rae looked upset, as Harriet knew she would be, but then she smiled, for the first time in seemingly a long time. "Coherent!"

Harriet nodded, as Matt looked Nick over. "Yes, he was coherent. His temp is down to 102.9."

Rae smiled, but then frowned. "102.9…it's dropping so _slowly_."

"But it _is_ dropping," said Harriet. "Thank God." 

********************

The next day was a milestone for Nick; his temperature fell a decent amount throughout the day, all the way down to 102. He woke up again at noon, and this time Rae was there.

"Nick!"

Matt was in the room with Rae, and they both saw Nick open his eyes and tiredly look around the room. When Nick's eyes fell on Rae, his expression was unreadable.

"Hey," Rae said, wondering why he didn't look happy to see her, but pretending she didn't notice. Maybe he wasn't as coherent as Harriet thought. "How do you feel?" she asked, rubbing a hand up and down his arm.

He said nothing at first, continuing to look at her. "Sick," he finally answered. 

"Awww," Rae said, sympathetically. "You were _very_ sick, Nick."

Nick started to raise his right arm, to rub an eye, but he felt weak as a baby, and his arm responded with a sharp throb when he tried to move it. Confused, he looked down at it, to see ugly purple bruises covering half of his forearm. In the middle of them were two obvious holes. 

He shot a shocked look at Matt, knowing what it meant. "Dialysis?!"

Matt nodded. "You developed cellulitis that quickly progressed to septic shock, Nick. You eventually suffered renal failure."

Whatever color Nick had regained in his face quickly left. "Cellulitis? Septic shock?! _Renal Failure_?!?!"

"Take it easy, Nick!" Matt said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Try not to get excited. The last thing we want is for your body to go into shock again!"

Nick said nothing as he lay there, breathing a little fast, stunned at what he'd heard. 

Rae sighed, continuing to rub his arm. 

"How bad?" he finally asked.

Matt sighed. "Well, you obviously didn't take the Keflex I told you to take, and we didn't know something was wrong with you until you keeled over in the OR."

Nick's jaw practically dropped. "I _what_?!"

"Keeled over in the OR," Matt repeated.

"While we were working on _my_ patient," they heard, as Jackie came walking in, with Jules.

Nick somehow managed to drag his left arm up, and drape it over his eyes, mindful of the IV in his hand. "_Please_ tell me I didn't kill anyone…"

"Nope," said Jackie, standing next to Rae. "You were pretty much done, and were just about to suture. Instead, you took a nosedive and nearly knocked me over! The nurses did the suturing, and I did the plastic surgery later. The patient doesn't even know about it."

Nick sighed, and said nothing for a minute.

"Nick?" Rae said, thinking he'd fallen asleep.

Nick said nothing, but he removed his arm from his eyes. "You were saying?" he said to Matt.

"I was?" Matt frowned. "Ah! Right. You went into shock in the OR…"

"BP?" Nick asked.

"60/30."

Nick looked even more shocked to hear that, and muttered something unintelligible.

"Your temp peaked at 103.6," Matt went on. "You were delirious on and off, and unconscious for most of the time."

"How long has it been?" Nick asked.

"This is day number four," Rae said, sounding sad.

Nick said nothing, and no one noticed that he seemed to be ignoring her. 

"We put you in the ICU," Matt went on. "But then you went into renal failure, and we gave you dialysis, which corrected it."

Nick again looked at his right forearm, marred by the nasty bruises. "How bad was the RF?"

"Your heartbeat and breathing were affected," said Matt. "But you didn't crash, or anything."

Nick was quiet, as he took everything in. He finally closed his eyes again, trying to stifle a groan at the pain he still felt. 

"Rest now, Nick," Rae said. "You're weak, your temp is still over 102."

Whether he was obeying her or his body, Nick fell back to sleep, finally on the real road to recovery.


	9. The Truth Hurts, Rae!

A gentle touch woke Nick, and he knew Rae was the one tenderly stroking his forehead. He found that her touch invoked no emotion in him, except for resentment. It hadn't always been that way, and he felt foolish, that she had been able to manipulate his emotions so well. 

Opening his eyes, he saw that no one else was in the room, and Rae gave him a big smile. 

"How do you feel?"

Assessing himself, Nick found that he felt extremely weak and drained, but his splitting headache had lessened. "A little better."

Rae's smiled widened. "Wonderful! You're temp is down, too. 101.5." 

Nick was very thankful to hear that, and he sighed in relief. "Where's Sean?" he suddenly asked.

Rae's smile changed to a look of shock. "What? In jail, where else?"

"What's he charged with?" Nick asked, not sure if it was attempted murder or assault.

"Attempted murder," she told him.

Nick closed his eyes, with a sigh.

"What is it?" Rae asked, confusion very plain in her voice.

"Trying to kill someone is wrong," said Nick. "But defending your wife's honor is not."

Rae frowned. "What are you saying? I don't understand."

"Your husband is no murderer," Nick said. "He is a man who was hurt by his wife, and her lover. You can't blame him for being upset."

Rae's expression turned incredulous. "He tried to _kill_ you! He looked for a weapon, and hunted you down!"

"He was drunk," said Nick, wishing she would talk softer, for his head's sake. "If he had been sober he would've probably just punched me in the face or something."

Rae stood, and began pacing. "Why are we having this conversation? What's the point, Nick?"

"I'm not pressing charges."

"WHAT?!" she shouted.

Nick closed his eyes, holding in a groan. He didn't feel better anymore!

Rae shook her head. "You can't drop charges of attempted murder, Nick! The _state_ will charge him, if you don't!"

Nick frowned at that one. Maybe it was possible to have the charges reduced, to assault, maybe? 

"What is going _on_ in here?"

Rae turned as Matt walked in, throwing an angry look at Rae. 

"Rae, what are you doing? You know better then to upset a sick patient!" He'd heard Rae's voice from out in the hall, and it angered him. Walking over to Nick, he felt his forehead and looked at the blood pressure gauge on the heart monitor. It was climbing ever so slowly; the septic shock had hit Nick fast and hard, the live, mature bacteria having been introduced directly into his bloodstream, rather then slowly growing in his body. "Feeling any better?"

"I _was_," Nick answered, sleepily.

Matt gave him a sympathetic smile, having been yelled at by plenty of women in his life. But then again, he'd never been in a hospital bed while they did it. "Rae, whatever the problem is, could it wait until our_ patient_ is stronger?"

Rae stared at him, knowing he was right, but angry nonetheless. 

Matt stared her down.

"Yes," Rae finally said. "It can wait."

Nick was shocked that she'd given in. He'd expected her to not answer Matt.

Saying nothing more, Rae sat in the chair beside the bed. 

Matt was also surprised that she'd given in. She obviously meant it. "That's better. I'll be back," he said, leaving the room.

Nick closed his eyes, wondering how long he would have to remain in the hospital. It was a new experience for him, being a patient.

"What about _us_, Nick?"

Nick opened his eyes, and looked at Rae with a puzzled frown. "Us? What 'us'? Since I came here you seemed to lose all interest in me most of the time. I wasn't aware there _was_ an 'us'."

Rae sighed. "That was when I was trying to put my marriage back together. It's over for sure, now," she said, with a sigh. "You don't expect me to stay married to him after what he did to you?"

Nick blinked, the thought having not had a chance to enter his mind yet, due to the circumstances. 

"I'm as good as single now," she said, with a sad half-smile. 

Nick was shocked nearly speechless. "You think that after all this, I'm just gonna jump in where we'd left off?" 

Now it was Rae's turn to frown. 

"You had no wedding ring on when I met you," Nick said. "I fell in love, and then found out you were married. What possessed me to continue the relationship is _beyond_ me." He sighed. "You are an adulteress, Rae, like it or not. Okay, say we _did_ pick up where we left off. Are you eventually gonna find someone _else_, and cheat on _me_?" 

Rae's jaw was hanging.

"Don't get me wrong, what I did was wrong too," Nick continued. "But I learned from my mistake. I will never cheat on a woman as long as I live, or have a relationship with a woman who is cheating on her husband. Look at where it got me, Rae," he said. "Look! I almost died for it." He shook his head, slowly. "No more. Never again." Feeling weaker from his emotional speech, he closed his eyes. 

The sound of a door closing brought Nick out of his half-doze, and he realized that Rae had left the room. With a sigh, he tried to force his emotions away, guilt over hurting Rae. He really _did_ love her once…but not anymore. She'd played him, but had lost. 


	10. Let's Be Friends

A few days later, Nick was finally strong enough to sit up and talk on the phone. The person he called? An attorney recommended to him by Matt. The lawyer was shocked to hear that Nick didn't want to press charges, and told him that Rae was right; the state would press them regardless. He said that he could get together with Sean's lawyer to talk, and possibly try to get the charge reduced. Nick still had yet to give his statement to the police, and when he did, he knew what he would say.

"We were having an affair," Nick told the officer who'd come to the hospital. "I met Sean once. He seemed pleasant enough."

"What happened the day he attacked you?" the policeman asked, as he wrote in his notepad, sitting in the chair by the bed.

"He was drunk, and was apparently looking for me. The receptionist let me know, and I went over to him. I didn't see the scalpel until it was too late." He watched as the officer wrote it all down. "Is there a chance he could be charged with assault instead of attempted murder?"

The officer looked at him with his eyebrows raised. "You don't want him charged with attempted murder?"

Nick shook his head.

"Why?"

"Because I understand," said Nick. "I can understand his anger. He felt that I had stolen his woman. Plus, he was drunk, and I know what that can do to the mind. If he'd been sober, he might not have done something so..." he searched for a word. "Serious."

The officer wrote on the pad again, looking amazed by Nick's words. "Well, this is a first," he said. "A victim not wanting to press attempted murder charges! Incredible!"

********************

_*ring*_

"Hello?"

"Hi Matt."

"Hey Jim," Matt replied, recognizing his lawyer friend's voice. "How are ya?"

"Pretty good. Is Nick there?"

"Yeah, but he's asleep," Matt told him, surprised that the phone hadn't woken him.

"Oh. I have some news for him."

"Is it good or bad?" Matt asked.

"Heh," said Jim. "Depends on who asks. They didn't reduce Sean's charge."

"Ah…Nick won't be happy to hear that."

"No, but there may be another way."

"Really?" said Matt, lowering his voice when he saw Nick stir slightly.

"Yup. Sean's lawyer is trying to plea bargain."

Matt's eyebrows flew up. "Interesting."

"I think it's a good idea," said Jim. "He'll get a reduced sentence that way, which is what Nick wants."

"When's the date of the plea bargain?" 

"This Wednesday."

"That soon?"

"Yeah," said Jim. 

Matt sighed, as he watched Nick's still-pale face. The bacteria had finally been eradicated from Nick's bloodstream, but his body had been through a lot, and still needed a lot of recovering to do. "I don't know if Nick will be out of here by then."

"Really?" Jim asked.

"I can't say for sure," Matt admitted. "He had one of the worse cases of septicemia I've ever seen. He's still very weak, he hasn't even been out of his bed yet."

"Poor guy," said Jim. "I didn't realize. If he's able, he can attend the plea bargain, but he can't come in the room you know."

"Oh?"

"He can give Sean's lawyer a statement, and he'll bring it into the meeting. Nick can stay to find out what happens, but outside the room."

"I see," said Matt. "Look, when he wakes up, I'll let him know what you said and get a better assessment of his condition. When I can better answer the question of whether or not he can be there, one of us will call you back."

"All right," Jim agreed. "See ya."

"Bye." Matt quietly hung up the phone, wanting Nick to get as much sleep as humanly possible, now that he had to go to court in a week. 

Nick suddenly opened his eyes, watching as Matt hung up.

"Ah, Nick," said Matt. "How do you feel?"

"Drained," Nick told him. "Like I could sleep for a year."

Matt nodded, sympathetically, sitting back in the chair. "Don't feel like getting up and trying to walk, eh?"

Nick made a face like that was a stupid question. "Why?"

Matt sighed before he spoke. "Sean is doing a plea bargain. They didn't reduce his charge, so your statement this Wednesday is the only thing that could help him get off easier."

Nick said nothing, closing his eyes. After a minute, he reopened them, and started trying to get up. 

"Hold it there, Nick," said Matt, picking up the bed control and hitting the button that raised the head of the bed, making it easier for him. 

Nick pushed the covers back, and tried to scoot to the side of the bed, annoyed to see that he couldn't use his left hand because of the IV's, and he couldn't use his right very effectively; his forearm still hurting thanks to the huge, ugly bruises left from the dialysis. 

"Let me give you a hand," said Matt, reaching out and taking Nick's arm. A humorous thought suddenly struck him. "Since you can't use _yours_!" 

Nick shot a mock-annoyed look at him, and scooted to the edge, stopping when he got there.

"Dizzy?" Matt asked.

Nick nodded, blinking his eyes. 

"Take it slow," said Matt. 

Nick saw wisdom in the suggestion, and stood up slowly, with Matt's help. The room spun and he instinctively put out his right hand to grab onto the night table, but pain shot through his forearm. 

"Whoa," said Matt, grabbing him. "Easy does it."

Nick almost laughed at the word, 'easy'. 

Matt supported him on his right side, careful not to cause more pain to his arm. "You sure you can do this?" he asked, noticing that Nick was leaning his full weight on him.

Nick blinked his eyes as if dizzy again. "It was _your_ idea."

"Ah ah ah," said Matt. "I asked if you were up to it. Your answer was no."

Nick sighed, with a smile. "Shut up."

Matt chuckled as he took a step, making sure Nick took it with him. 

Nick did, slowly, leaning some weight onto the IV pole in an attempt to walk straight. 

"MATT!"

Nick was startled by the sudden voice, and his knees buckled. 

Looking behind himself as he tried to hold Nick up, Matt saw Rae standing there, with a look of shock on her face.

"What are you doing?!" she exclaimed, rushing over and grabbing Nick on the other side, careful not to touch his wound. "He's not ready to get up!"

Nick fought the urge to say, 'how would you know, you've been avoiding me once again' as they sat him back on the bed, helping him lie down again.

"Rae," Matt said, with a sigh. "He needs to attend a plea bargain in five days."

Rae blinked, looking down at Nick, whose eyes were closed. 

As she continued to stare, Matt sensed that he should vamoose, and quietly slinked out of the room.

Nick opened his eyes after a minute, and stared back, saying nothing. 

"Oh, Nick," said Rae, smoothing his hair. "I'm so sorry."

Nick looked surprised at her apology. 

Rae closed her eyes, with a sigh. "Sean and I have had problems for a long time. During that Red Cross tour, when you and I met…" she opened her eyes again. "I'd taken my wedding ring off, out of spite to him. I…I just didn't want it on my finger. I never anticipated meeting someone. Meeting _you_."

Nick said nothing, listening.

"And then, after that night, I didn't _want_ to be married, I wished I _wasn't_ married. I so badly wished I were single; I didn't want Sean anymore, after you." Again she sighed. "When I came back home and saw Sean, I felt guilty. I felt that I _needed_ to try to make it work. At first, it did, and you and I saw each other during the Red Cross tours, as you know. But then…"

"Then I came to Presidio," said Nick.

Rae nodded. "I love you, Nick, but I also loved Sean for ten years." She gave a slight smile. "Well, most of those ten years."

Nick said nothing, sighing.

"I can understand your anger," said Rae. "You got more then you bargained for. Unknowingly falling for a married woman, and then nearly being killed by her husband…"

Rae stopped, wondering what Nick was thinking, as he hadn't said much.

"I'm sorry, Rae," said Nick.

Rae held her breath, feeling as if someone had stabbed _her_ with a scalpel. She'd hoped that Nick would forsake his anger and still want her, but his statement pretty much meant the opposite. 

She nodded, fighting back tears. "It's okay. I understand."

Nick saw her struggle, and lifted his IV-laden left hand, touching her cheek with his forefinger. "I'll always be here for you though, Rae."

She smiled at that.

"And someday, who knows…" he continued, trying to make her feel better.

Rae smiled bigger and put her hand over his, careful not to touch the IV's. "So for now, friends?"

Nick smiled. "Friends."


	11. Thank God they didn't get Judge Judy! lo...

The next few days were hard for Nick, as he tried to get himself physically capable of attending the meeting, and work on his statement. He didn't get the rest he needed to recover, and although he gained enough strength to walk without help, he only lasted a short distance. 

His body showed its protestation at his too-fast-of-a-pace by holding onto a low fever. It worried the doctors, and annoyed Nick. 

"Forget about the statement for now!" Rae said, grabbing the papers they'd written it on, and putting them on the night table. It was the day before the meeting, and she was getting more and more upset as Nick got less and less rest.

Nick said nothing, just looking at her. She was right, he'd be setting himself up for trouble if he continued at such a pace. _But after tomorrow, it should be over_, he argued with himself. _I'll be able to get all the rest I need, after tomorrow…_

"Nick?"

"Huh?" he said, jerking his head up when he realized it had drooped.

"You're more asleep then awake," she said. Reaching over, she felt his forehead. "You're still feverish. Get some sleep, _please_."

Nick nodded, trying to stifle a yawn. 

Picking up the bed remote, Rae hit the button to lower the head of the bed so that Nick was lying down. She saw that he didn't even notice, already fast asleep. 

What felt to Nick like minutes later, he awoke and saw Rae walking towards him wearing a navy blue jacket and skirt, carrying a dark gray suit on a hanger.

"Rae?" he said, slightly startled out of his sleep. 

"Time to get up," Rae told him, closing the door and laying the suit on the next bed.

Nick frowned, looking around. Last he knew it was afternoon. How did it get to be morning?

Rae noticed the expression on his face. "What? Are you all right?"

Nick nodded, sitting up. "I've been asleep since yesterday afternoon?"

Rae nodded. "That's right. I'm glad, you needed it badly."

Nick felt nervous butterflies enter his stomach as he slowly got out of the bed, still favoring his side. 

"How do you feel today?" Rae asked him, walking over and feeling his forehead.

"Physically, or mentally?" 

Rae frowned at the feel of Nick's still-too-warm skin. "Both."

Nick sighed, deciding to be honest. "Physically: weak." He shook his head, picking up the suit and sitting on the edge of the bed. "I never realized just _how_ it feels to be so completely sapped, like this." He gave her a slight smile. 

Rae smiled back, rubbing a hand along his upper arm. "And mentally?" she asked.

Nick gave her a sheepish look. "Nervous."

Rae understood that. She was nervous too. Widening her smile to try to put Nick at ease, she took the suit out of his hand. "Come on now, let's get you dressed."

Nick submitted; not wanting to use up all his strength before the day even began.

Matt walked in as Nick sat on the bed, allowing Rae to tie his shoes for him. "How you doing today, Nick?"

Nick waved his hand in the 'so so' gesture, as Rae finished and stood, picking up Nick's blue and gray tie and slipping it around his neck.

Matt reached out to feel Nick's forehead, but stopped when Rae said, "It's still there."

Matt shook his head, *tsk tsk-ing* "Why do you keep holding onto that fever, Nick? You should let it take a break and go home."

Nick laughed at that. "I already gave it my permission to leave."

Rae tried not to show her worry at his lingering ailment, as she finished with Nick's tie and began to comb his hair. 

"When do _I_ get the star treatment?" Matt joked.

"When _you're_ too weak to dress yourself," she answered.

"Don't exaggerate," said Nick, annoyed to still be treated as a helpless invalid. 

Rae said nothing, putting down the comb. Looking at her watch, she sighed. "We can't spend much time in the cafeteria."

"I'm not hungry," Nick told her, the reason for going there obvious.

Rae shook her head. "_Oh_, no. You have to eat to keep your strength up!"

Nick was too nervous to eat, but he knew she was right. "I'd rather go through the Dunkin Donut's drivethrough."

"First he doesn't want to eat, and now he wants to eat junk," said Rae, shaking her head.

Nick shook his head. "I don't want a doughnut, I want a cinnamon-raisin bagel with cream cheese."

"They sell those in the cafeteria!" Matt exclaimed.

"But they aren't as good," Nick told him, with a smirk.

Rae shook her head, with a smile. "Dunkin Donut's it is." She took Nick's arm as he stood, and the three of them left.

********************

Nick, Rae, and Matt sat quietly outside the room that the meeting was taking place in. It had only been fifteen minutes so far but it felt like an hour to Nick, who was itching to get out of there, still feeling unwell. He was overwhelmed by the whole American court system—which he'd never experienced before—and was nervous about the outcome of the plea bargain. What if they refused it, and the case went to trial?

"You all right, Nick?" Matt asked, seeing his unease.

Rae snapped her head up, having been lost in her own thoughts and nearly forgetting about Nick's condition.

Nick sighed. "I wish it would be over soon."

Matt nodded. "It shouldn't be much longer."

Suddenly the door opened, and the District Attorney came out. 

"Well?" said Rae, standing.

"They seem to have accepted, they go before the judge now."

Matt and Rae looked at Nick, who sighed in relief. 

"You can come to the courtroom, to hear the judge's decision," the DA informed them.

Nick stood, and Rae and Matt automatically held onto his arms as they quickly followed the DA to the appointed courtroom, entering to see Sean standing before the judge.

The judge was silent, looking at the papers he'd been given. "I've been a judge for 30 years," he said. "And I've hardly _ever_ seen a case like this one; the victim writing a statement asking for leniency for his attacker." He looked up as Nick, Rae, and Matt sat down. "You should consider yourself a lucky man, Mr. Brennan."

Sean said nothing, but his guilty sigh was audible.

"You could have received a sentence of 10 years or more," the judge continued. "Had you been found guilty of attempted murder." He studied the papers again. "The plea bargain you're making asks for a charge of assault rather then attempted murder, and consists of probation, anger management classes, AA, and a fine." He looked at Sean again, and then looked right at Nick, somehow knowing who he was. 

"After reading the statement provided by your victim, I have decided to accept your bargain."

Nick gasped. Rae almost elbowed him in his side, but stopped herself just in time. 

Sean seemed shocked too, snapping his head up in surprise.

"The probation will last for 5 years," said the judge. "Your fine will be in the amount of $10,000, and you will start the classes immediately. I also will add a restraining order, for you to not come in contact with Mr. Kokoris, indefinitely." The judge banged his gavel loudly. "Court dismissed."

Rae looked at Nick, not sure if she should be glad or not that her husband had avoided jail. 

Nick returned her look, obviously happy with the outcome.

The officers led Sean out the side door, the relieved man not even knowing that Nick and Rae were there.

As Nick stood, he saw the judge look at him, giving him a smile of admiration. 

Nick smiled back, giving him a nod of thanks as Rae and Matt led him out. 


	12. Kinda Late to say 'Sorry', but Oh Well

With the resolution of the _very_ stressful situation, Nick was finally able to get the rest he needed, and work on finally recovering. His fever left within the next couple of days, and he regained more strength. 

The day he was finally allowed to leave the hospital, Matt walked into his room holding an envelope. 

"What's that?" Nick asked, as he gingerly straightened up after tying his shoes. 

"Something I'm rather shocked about," Matt said, handing it to him. 

Opening it, Nick saw that it was a letter—from Sean, of all people. "Doesn't a restraining order include letters?"

Matt nodded. "It does, but Sean apparently got special permission to send you that. His lawyer gave it to Jim and he showed it to the judge, who gave his approval. I saw Jim last night, and he asked me to give it to you."

Nick nodded, and began reading.

_I'm writing you this letter, _it said._ To thank you for asking for leniency for me. I apologize for stabbing you— you're right; it's not something I would have done if I hadn't been drinking. _

_Things between Rae and I have not always gone well, and I'm not surprised that she turned to someone else; especially since I'm hardly ever home, thanks to my job. After hearing of the circumstances in your statement, you did not owe me an apology, but I thank you for it, nonetheless. _

_Once again, I apologize for my actions, and for the actions of my soon-to-be ex-wife_.

_Sean Brennan._

After reading it, Nick looked up to see the curious look on Matt's face, so he handed him the letter. 

Matt quickly read it, frowning in confusion at some parts. 

"Along with my statement," Nick explained. "I wrote him an apology."

"Ah," Matt said, nodding. "What did he mean by 'after hearing the circumstances', and apologizing for Rae's 'actions'? 

Nick sighed, looking to make sure Rae wasn't coming. "When I met her, she was wearing no wedding ring. She didn't tell me she was married."

Matt made a face. "I see." He hesitated. "And now?"

"It's over, between us," Nick told him.

Matt gave him a sympathetic look.

Suddenly the door opened, and Rae walked in, smiling at Nick, who looked much improved.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, not seeing Matt quickly hide the letter behind his back. 

"Better," Nick said, with a smile.

Rae smiled back and took his arm, leading him towards the door. "I'm driving you home; no arguments."

Matt quickly shoved the letter back into the envelope and stuck it in Nick's coat pocket, as he handed it to him. "Take it easy Nick. See you soon."

"Thanks, Matt," Nick said. "For everything."

Matt waved his arm, knowing that Nick was thanking him not only for his medical care, but also for going with them to the court and keeping what Nick told him in confidence. "Anytime. That's what friends are for."

Nick smiled, and he and Rae left the room.

THE END

Thanks for all your reviews! :)


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